(Photo by Chua Yek Guo)
Saying “Thank You” verbally without any sincerity is like an arrow flying past where nobody would notice and put it to heart. Being grateful is about expressing one’s heartfelt appreciation toward a matter or a person to the extent that one feels gratitude.
The Chinese character for “恩” (pronounced as "en" in hanyu pinyin) means gratitude. The character "恩" has the character for “因” (cause）on top of the character for “心” (mind). As such, one’s heart should always be planted with a seed called cause-affinity so that one is always filled with boundless gratitude, seeks ways to return one’s benefactor’s kindness, and will forever remember the gratitude at heart. One should not feel grateful only when one receives favours. As long as people can live in harmony and experience peace, this is already worthy of gratitude.
Translated by Michelle Lim Cheng Wai
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